Driver left scene of crash that killed pedestrian on Route 440, prosecutor says

The driver who struck and killed a pedestrian Wednesday night in Bayonne has been charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident, authorities said.

Abanoub A. Malek, 21, of Bayonne, faces the second-degree offense after authorities said he hit a man on Route 440 between 21st and 22nd streets in his 2004 Acura TL and left the scene.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office is awaiting formal identification of the victim by a family member, and said the cause and manner of death are pending an investigation by the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said police responded to the scene of the crash at 9:50 p.m., found the lifeless body of a victim on the ground and determined the driver had left the scene. The man was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:05 p.m.

Authorities eventually identified Malek as the driver and arrested him at 1:15 a.m. Thursday, Suarez said. Authorities did no say how Malek was tracked down.A crash investigation report indicates the collision took place in the southbound lanes of the busy state highway, but does not provide any narrative or details of the crash. The speed limit on that stretch of highway is 45 mph.

Malek made his first court appearance Thursday and was released from custody with certain conditions.

The fatality is the 19th on roadways in Hudson County this year, and the seventh since Aug. 31, according to New Jersey State Police statistics. It is also the fourth fatal crash on the stretch of Route 440 that runs through Bayonne since 2014. Five people were killed in those crashes, including friends Tyler Sellers, 20, and Sabore Worrell, 24, who were struck by a speeding car at the intersection of Route 440 and Lefante Way on Nov. 2, 2015.

Wednesday's fatality has renewed calls for added safety measures on the state road.

Jay Sellers, the father of Tyler Sellers, said it should start with the addition of sidewalks along Route 440, as well as more crosswalks to help pedestrians traverse the busy roadway.

"It's very, very sad. It's something that just shouldn't have happened. It happens too many times," Sellers said Thursday. "How many families are going to have lose a loved one to this highway? How many people are going to have to lose their life for them to fix it?"

The Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit is continues to investigate Wednesday's crash with assistance from the Bayonne Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to contact the HCPO at 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip the office's website at www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/